Satgen376 2m and 70cm Take over ? by GM4IHJ 8th June 96 The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Industry group has placed on record a bid for the radio amateur 2m and 70 cm bands. They ask for USA to submit this proposal at 1997 World Radio Conference. ARRL asks that all interested radio amateur make their strong views known to IWG-2A , the working group looking at proposals.The following text has been submited by GM4IHJ:- It has been suggested by LEO representitives that they need to take over the 2m and 70 cm Radio Amateur Bands. They would be wise to look elsewhere. The points which follow arise from observations in Europe and Asia by this writer ILLEGAL OPERATION. Amateur radio equipment has been sold to anyone whether licensed or not. So everyone is using it. Taxis, tour operators, ski coaches, farmers, truck and bus drivers, commercial fishermen and merchant seamen, hunters et al. Over Europe, the bands belong to Taxis and their powerfully equiped controllers. Over the Atlantic the fishermen have a constant presence on the air. Over Asia Minor, even the children can be heard . While over the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Islands every bus tour operator is on the air, courtesy of illegal amateur radio equipment. Local authorities in Spain appear powerless to prevent this illegal usage, even in the Taxis in their capital city. At this present 2nd June 96, LEO Amsat Ao27 over Scotland is being accessed and blocked by Spanish taxis who are operating illegally, on its 2m uplink. ELECTRONIC INTERFERENCE. Implementation of electronic interference suppression ordinances observed for years in USA, has simple not happened in Europe. As a result 2m and 70cm amateur bands are plagued by a large number of spurious signals. European amateur terrestrial traffic can dodge some of this nuisance, but a LEO satellitte will receive it from all its 5000km diam footprint, continuously. MILITARY AND INSURGENT. There is a strong military presence on these bands, and many small military /insurgent operations use readily available amateur equipment. These problems are further compounded at 70cms by the presence of megawatt powered radars such as Pave Paws. PROBLEMS UNIQUE TO LEO SATS. Terrestrial VHF/UHF is usable even in the electronic jungle described above by virtue of its limited line of sight coverage. LEO satellites by contrast, are wide open to all these forms of interference at the same time. Everything radiating within the 5000 km diameter of the satellites footprint is received at the low altitude satellite at quite high power. WHAT HAPPENS TO REDUNDANT AMATEUR EQUIPMENT. This writer has equipment for these bands with a present market resale value of more than $4000. This is a typical situation for several million radio amateurs. There is also equipment worth many millions tied up in Amateur radio repeaters, packet nodes, dx clusters , beacons and the like. Many billions of dollars worth of equipment is involved world wide. Does the LEO industry propose to reimburse radio amateurs when it renders their equipment redundant? If they do not, this equipment may find its way into unlicensed hands, and continue in operation. SUMMARY. It is ironic that while terrestrial amateurs in their millions continue to use these bands. The Amateur satellite fraternity has been moving away from them for years, because of the afore mentioned problems. Given the experience of Amateur LEO satellite operators over the past few years, it is clear that the LEO industry will, if they succeed in this misguided take over, take possession of frequencies which are of little or no practical use to them.